Beijing (AFP) - Figure skating legend Yuzuru Hanyu's defence of his Olympic title looked in deep trouble Thursday as he fell twice in the men's free skate in Beijing.
His score of 188.06 was far short of his all-time best of 212.99.
After a shaky start on Tuesday in the short programme, where he finished eighth, the twice Olympic champion needed to make up a gap of 18.82 points to his main rival, Nathan Chen of the US.
Japan's Hanyu is gunning for a third consecutive gold, something that was last achieved in the 1920s.
He had pledged to perform a quadruple axel -- a jump no skater has ever landed in competition -- but failed to land it and fell to the ice.
He quickly rose but fell once more, before carrying on his "Heaven and Earth" programme with his usual polished precision.
Looking crushed as the music died down, Hanyu recovered and skated off the rink with his head held high.
Chen is yet to skate.
